From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic-digest V2 #139 Reply-To: $SENDER Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic-digest Saturday, April 18 1998 Volume 02 : Number 139 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 1) BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 2) BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 3) BUFFYFIC: Broken Bonds (Part 2) BUFFYFIC: A stroke of Luck (part 4) BUFFYFIC: "The Mission" (1/?) See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 17:36:51 -0400 (EDT) From: sah Subject: BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules Welcome! This list is for fiction related to "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," both the TV series and the movie. To ensure that we all get to enjoy as much fiction as possible, please adhere to the following guidelines, and please save them for future reference. 1. Fiction should have Buffy characters in it and clearly be related to Buffy. Crossovers are great, and expected, but general vampire/monster stories that aren't in the Buffy universe and don't use Buffy characters belong somewhere else. 2. Discussion of posted fiction is permitted onlist. Please put "DISCUSS" in your subject line. Requests for missing story parts should go directly to the author, and not be posted to the list. Discussion that is not related directly to the fiction should go over to the general Buffy list. Discussion of fiction is expected to follow common netiquette guidelines and use PG-13 language. 3. No advertising of items or services, Buffy related or not, and no posting of non-story items such as .gifs, sound files, etc.. No attached files of kind-- if your mailer makes your fiction into attached files, you need to find another way to get it to the list. 4. If you're writing a story and including advance information on a new episode, and you're posting your story earlier than the national viewing time, please: **Mark the post as a "spoiler" in the subject header. **Leave about twelve lines (blank or with non-spoiler info) at the top of the post. This ensures that anyone who doesn't like knowing about an episode ahead of time is "protected." :) The blank space is for people whose mailers automatically open up the next piece of mail, without giving them a chance to see "spoiler" in the header. Spoiler warnings are not necessary after the start of the episode's national viewing time, which is currently set at 9 p.m. Mondays, Eastern Standard Time. Spoiler warnings are not necessary for reruns. 5. This list is absolutely NOT for erotic fiction. stronger than sexually PG-13 material is to be posted to the list under any circumstances. A story may be R rated for violence or language, however. If you have a question about something's suitability for posting, feel free to ask one of the listowners. Sending sexually explicit material will get you immediately and permanently unsubscribed. No exceptions. 6. By subscribing and/or posting to this list, you acknowledge that Buffy the Vampire slayer and all characters associated with either the televised series or the motion picture were created by Josh Whedon and are owned by Mutant Enemy productions, Kuzui Productions, Sandollar Productions, and 20th Century Fox. All stories posted to this list are for entertainment purposes only, are not sold for profit of any kind, and are not intended to infringe on any copyrights. 7. When posting stories to the list, please follow the following formatting guidelines - --No story parts longer than 250 lines - --No lines longer than 75 characters - --Turn off your "smart quotes"-- many readers receive these as garbage or weird symbols - --Put the title of the story in the subject header, indicate if it's a multipart story, and if so what part this is. Example: Buffy Meets Godzilla (2/65) indicates that this post is part two of a 65 part story. 8. If a story is rated "R" for language/violence, indicate this in an introduction. For example, "There's a really bloody fight scene at the end of this part" or "if you don't like dismemberment, stop reading now!" If there's chance that someone might be disturbed by something in your story (even if it's not rated R) please include some kind of warning up front. 9. And last, but not least, the listowners reserve the right to deny subscription (new, renewed, or continued) to the list for any individual(s). PLEASE NOTE: not following any or all of these rules will get you the following: **First offense: offender is unsubscribed for one week. **Second offense: offender is unsubscribed to the Buffyfic list for a minimum of three months. **If the offender returns and does it again, they're offlist permanently. As noted above, posting sexually explicit material is the exception -- you go straight to permanent unsubbing. Again, welcome! If you have any questions about these rules, please contact either one of us offlist. If you have subscription problems or questions, the fastest way to get help is to e-mail one of us at the addresses below, at the kirby@xmission.com addy which is the "official" e-mail owner of the list. Jill Kirby (jtkirby@mcs.com) & sah (romana@mindspring.com) Listowners, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fiction List buffyfic@xmission.com - -- sah * romana@mindspring.com * romana@aol.com NatPack * BotCoS * Jungle Patrol * BBPGrrl:TGLIL * Bishop * BTVS Listowner Nat's B&B: http://free.prohosting.com/~romana/natpack/html My homepage: http://free.prohosting.com/~romana/index.html "In front of me, facing me and the bank of journalists, was the Senate Judiciary Committee: Fourteen white men in dark grey suits." Anita Hill ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 17:59:42 -0700 From: LadySun Subject: BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 1) Well's here's my very first Buffy fic... I hope you all like it! I'd love feedback.. there are some evil scenes.. most are towards the begining and towards the end. I'm not sure how many parts there will be yet though.. Sorry :( Anyways, here goes :) Takes place after Lie To Me, I don't own Buffy an CO. you know that silly! The Lyrics are by Garbage and are inside of ~ tildes ~ I don't own any of Garbage's much or nothing either (you know that too!) No copyright infringement is intended **** A Stroke of Luck (part 1) She walked around the side of the large tree glad to see a man sitting down reading a book, a smile crossed her lips as she swayed there in the wind. "What are you reading?" The man clearly startled nearly jumped out of his skin. Drusilla cocked her head to the side, curiously. "umm.. it's uhh... uhh..." the man stuttered. Dru frowned. "hmm?" "Buffy?-- " Giles began to speak again, but was interrupted... "My tummy's growly." Dru pouted "An' he's left me all alone... Come an' play" She asked playfully. Such a dangerous demon, in such a young mind... Her head flickered with visions. Seeing the slayer, Spike, a Stake and then a girl--. Dru whimpered, unable to follow it. And grasped the side of her head when blackness filled her mind, And a picture of a girl all in red came clearly into view. When she finally broke out of her revere she was face to face with one teenage slayer. Dru smiled coyly. " 'ave you come out to play?" she asked hopefully. "Do you like tea?" Buffy grasped the stake in her hand tight, "You shouldn't be here" Buffy began, giving Dru her chance. "Where's Spike" Drusilla whimpered like a small puppy and bent forward, as though in pain. "He's gone all away, in my head, to her..." She cried. Buffy didn't seem amused. But none-the-less was worried. She wasn't sure what Drusilla was saying but she did know Spike would never leave her alone. Especially with a slayer around. When Dru looked up her face wrenched, and twisted... Buffy clenched her stake Spike rounded the corner to the park, totally lost in his thoughts. In fact, only when Dru cried out did he notice her. She was standing there looking in his direction, but it seemed very obvious to him, she saw no-one there. There was a blonde girl in front of her. Spike begged for a brief minute that it wasn't the slayer... "Spike!" Dru called out giddy to see that he had come for her. The girl turned around... Buffy turned around, Spike cursed his luck. He walked slowly towards them. The last thing Spike needed was to startle the slayer when she was so close to Drusilla. Buffy groaned inwardly hating this situation just as much as Spike did. "Spike!" Dru yelled again, when he didn't say anything, and she began to guess something wrong. She started to go to him, when she felt the end of a stake near her chest. She hissed at Buffy, the stake making her ill at ease - flashes of darkness again flooded her mind... Buffy never even knew, Drusilla hissed threateningly, her face all distorted.. How was Buffy to know she meant no harm? She plunged the stake into Drusilla, seeing her as a threat. And stepped outta the way "Spike?" Dru asked meekly Spike heart collapsed and shattered into a million pieces. Dru began to fall, he ran to her as fast as he could. And when he was to catch her in his arms and hold her, to long for the stake to disappear. She shattered. Her whole life, just like his heart, was nothing more than dust... ((SORRY DRU FANS! REALLY I AM!)) - -- ~ ` ~ LadySun ~ ` ~ http://home.earthlink.net/~kbleyle/SD/index.html 'We look before and After, and pine for what is not; our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell the saddest thought...' The Cure (Wish) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 18:00:51 -0700 From: LadySun Subject: BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 2) For disclaimers see part 1 A Stroke of Luck (part 2) ~ Hanging by threads of palest silver ~ ~ I could have stayed that way forever ~ It was like a dream... Freeze frame in time, looking into Drusilla's face... And when he got up, she was there... not Dru of course. But the source of all this pain. Buffy found herself backing away slightly, the intense look in his eyes made her shiver. He jumped right in front of her, and succeeded in striking her straight across the face, sending Buffy staggering back, she hadn't even realized how close he was. When he went to attack her again though, she'd been ready, catching his hand in mid air, and nearly flipping him over. The fight continued for some time, when Buffy finally found herself panting for breathe. Spike's resistance wore thin and his game of aggression soon left him one beat up Spike and exhausted slayer. It grew dull now. Grabbing *the* stake off the ground, he wondered if maybe the slayer could turn to dust like his love... With a low growl, deep in his throat he attacked her again, managing to kicked her off guard, and landing hard with a loud thud, she went to stand up again, but with a foot on her chest Spike shoved her back down. He stood over her, wishing her a happy death, when Giles tackled him down the ground. "Now this" Spike stood over the Liberian "Is becoming an annoying coincidence" Buffy got up to attack him but it was too late as Spike shoved the stake into the watchers chest ~ Bad blood and ghosts wrapped tight around me ~ ~ Nothing could ever seem to touch me ~ Spike looked down at the look on the slayers face. He found her distraught very satisfying. Buffy looked up, her eyes threatening to tear him to shreds. With a smile he began to walk away. Though he listened to her behind him, crying over the watchers dying body. Telling him it would be alright. He wanted to go back... He wanted to kill her... But he was so tired. The night's events had worn him out, and he knew that she felt the same... So he kept walking, his head so full of many things, things he'd learned, things he'd dreamed, things he'd felt, things he hadn't... ~ I lose what I love most ~ His thoughts went to Angelus... He should tell him... No, Angelus would find out, the slayer would tell him, she would run to him, and cry... Would he care the Drusilla was gone? Would he morn her lose? Or cheer? Would he fear for his new lovers life? Or for the Dying watcher? He found that he hardly cared.... - -- ~ ` ~ LadySun ~ ` ~ http://home.earthlink.net/~kbleyle/SD/index.html 'We look before and After, and pine for what is not; our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell the saddest thought...' The Cure (Wish) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 18:01:24 -0700 From: LadySun Subject: BUFFYFIC: A Stroke of Luck (part 3) For disclaimers see part 1 A Stroke of Luck (part 3) ~ Did you know I was lost until you found me? ~ Willow had begun walking home around 11:00...which in all fairness, *was* a bad time to be out alone at night, especially in Sunnydale. But Buffy and Giles had went off hunting, and Xander had gone home long before. She had stayed, to help research until it had gotten late, and she had gotten tired... It was really getting cold Willow thought as she wrapped her arms around her waist and continued on her way...she heard a snap. Like a twig. She turned around with so fast she felt all dizzy. Stake in hand, she looked closely in the darkness, searching for movement of any kind. But of course.... there was nothing there... She continued to peer into the night until she was positive that she was the only one around. Willow smile and turned round again - walking right into Spikes arms. He very easily knocked the stake right out of her hands, and grabbed her, not violently so, he was done with violence for the night. Nevertheless Spike, was *not* in the mood to pass up a chance to hurt Buffy. Willow immediately began to kick squirm and punch as hard as she could to get free, What else would any sane person do, when thrust into the hands of their enemy? But, it was no use. Spikes grasp on her was stronger than steel.... He waited patiently for her to give up, terribly annoyed at the intensity she had, wishing she'd just relax. Which of course she did, after a while at least. Nearly falling hopelessly to the ground, ever the gentleman Spike caught her pulling on her waist and got her standing again. Panting, sighing, and seriously scared, Willow looked up into the eyes of her enemy. It wasn't what she had been expecting... ~ A stroke of luck or a gift from God? ~ He looked so incredibly sad, Spike! She thought in her head! Spike looks, sad? She began to wonder, what could make such an evil villain so said. ~ The hand of fate or devil's claws? ~ Spike saw the emotion in her eyes, it wasn't hard to miss, it must have reflected off his own, gee, guess she'd been left outta the news loop. The affection in her eyes sickened him.. Spike twisted his face to that of a demons and snarled at her, so close, there noses almost touching. Willow fainted Spike rolled his eyes, and picked up her feet to carry her. He hadn't really meant to scare her that badly. He'd just as soon have her crying. But this would be easier he supposed. Wouldn't have to listen to her beg for her life...Though sometimes, that's the best part... He sighed, what was he gonna do with the little slayers friend now? - -- ~ ` ~ LadySun ~ ` ~ http://home.earthlink.net/~kbleyle/SD/index.html 'We look before and After, and pine for what is not; our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell the saddest thought...' The Cure (Wish) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 12:15:55 -0400 From: uzenet@videotron.ca Subject: BUFFYFIC: Broken Bonds (Part 2) Title: Broken Bonds (Part 2) Author: Northlight e-mail: uzenet@videotron.ca Summary: Giles dissapears and bad things start to happen. Note: Thanks to all who helped. Disclaimer: They aren't mine. Buffy twisted around under her tangled sheets, her sweat slicked face terrified. She was dreaming, and a Slayer's dreams were rarely pleasant. Tonight was no exception. Fire consumed her mind, reaching out towards Willow, Xander and Angel as they cried out for her to save them. The scene shifted, as vampires surged forward, moving towards her in an unstoppable force 'so many of them...'. The fire flared, burning brighter only to die away leaving Buffy looking into the empty eyes of her Watcher's broken, lifeless body. And still it continued, the fire raging through her mind leaving a trail of death and destruction that Buffy found herself powerless to prevent. Finally, mercifully, Buffy woke, a scream catching in her throat. 'Oh man that was definitely not pleasant,' Buffy thought as she wearily crawled out of her bed, her stomach roiling in nausea at the dream images burned into her mind. She moved towards the window on trembling legs, her shaking hand resting on the cool glass as she peered out into the night. 'I don't know what's happening, but something's wrong. Very wrong.' Buffy shuddered slightly, her lips pulling into a humourless smile. 'Talk about an understatement. I think that I'd better talk to Giles about this one. He'd probably have a fit if he ever found out that I didn't tell him about this'. The thought of sharing some of her worry with her Watcher calmed some of Buffy's fear. She was still uneasy, still wary, but no longer terrified. It was a childish thought, but it soothed her nonetheless. 'Giles will take care of everything.' ************** The next morning, the moment Buffy arrived at school she automatically headed for the library in search for Giles. Since she had reached the decision to tell him of her dreams, Buffy was eager to do so. She wanted him to listen to her worries and tell her that her dreams weren't of an unalterable future. She could tell herself that of course, but it would just sound better coming from someone who sounded as if they meant it. She reached the library and pushed at the doors. They didn't budge. 'What the--?! Locked?' Buffy glared at the door suspiciously. Giles never locked the door. In fact, she hadn't even known that they did lock. "Giles?" Buffy called out, peering through the door windows. "Giles? It's Buffy... Buffy Summers," she elaborated in case anyone should happen to see her pounding at the closed library doors 'as if that would ever happen.' "C'mon Giles, open up!" Buffy cried out again. She was worried. Strange enough that the door wasn't opening, and now Giles wasn't answering her call. Buffy was seriously tempted to use her Slayer's strength to force the door open. 'This isn't right!' Buffy was about to start of fresh volley of pounding when the door swung open. She aborted the striking movement of her hand and stared up at the man at the door in shock. The man was shorter than Giles, and husky. He had thick black hair and a close cropped beard. His eyes were dark and unreadable, and that made Buffy want to step back in unease. It wasn't Giles. That in itself was enough to make wariness flash through Buffy. The library was Giles', nobody else's. "Where's Giles?" Buffy demanded, her voice unintentionally threatening. Realizing that her tone wasn't exactly friendly, or appropriate, she consciously moderated it. "I need to speak to him." The man blinked slowly, surveying her with considering eyes. "Come in," he said, moving from the door and gesturing for her to enter. Buffy followed him in, her highly honed Slayer's instincts screaming at her. The man who had moved in on Giles' territory moved towards the desk, where Buffy and her friends had spent so many hours pouring through Giles' beloved books, and motioned for her to sit. Buffy remained standing. It felt strange, seeing someone else in Giles' library. The room with all its books was so much a part of her Watcher that being in here with someone else almost felt like an invasion of privacy. 'This isn't right.' "Buffy Summers?" the man asked. Buffy ignored his question. "Who are you? Where's Giles?" The man looked at her with cold eyes, annoyed that she had ignored him. But he answered her nonetheless. "My name in Nathaniel Tyler, Buffy. I am the new librarian... and your new Watcher." End Part 2 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 11:29:02 -0700 From: LadySun Subject: BUFFYFIC: A stroke of Luck (part 4) For disclaimers see part 1 A Stroke of Luck (part 4) For disclaimers see part 1 When Willow awoke she was chained to a wall. Looking around at her surroundings, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. The walls were made of dark brick, the only light was made by a large candle in the corner. It reminded her of the classic vampire horror, the very cheesy kind... Willow sighed, the tip if her toes barely touched the ground, the chains were up so high. Head pounding, she tried to move her aching muscles, with not much luck. She couldn't believe it! Had she really been captured by Spike? Or was it all a delusion? It couldn't get worse... she had to look for a way out.... ~~~ Spike laid on the bed, her bed. His mind soared all over the place. From Drusilla, to Angelus. He thought of the Slayer, and remembered the last moment he had shared with Drusilla, right before she's shattered. He remembered the last day, he had shared with Drusilla... Every last stupid detail seemed so important.. He thought about Prague... When he thought he might actually lose his Dru... It seems terribly unreal. And every now and again, he'd feel that Dru would come through the door, wanting to play, wanting to dance, wanting to cuddle, anything... Spike could feel the sun begin to rise, and remembered he hadn't drawn the curtains in the room... He actually thought for a minute about this, if he should bother to get up.. to shut away the light... but as the suns rays came approaching, he began to feel ill at ease. Getting up he shut out the sun. He would make her pay. He promised himself, and he promised Dru, she wouldn't get away with this.... ~~~ Willows eyes jerked open as the candle went out. She cursed her luck, defiantly not wanting to be chained up in the dark! She groaned in pain suddenly, having no idea how long she had been down here, and her arms felt like they were seriously gonna fall off, she felt feint, from lack of food. and some sun wouldn't hurt either. She began to wonder where Spike and Drusilla were. Had they just left her down here to die? She shuddered at the thought, and began to fell dizzy again. She closed her eyes, with the pretense of resting them. But soon found herself in the only safe place she could think up at the moment. Her dreams... - -- ~ ` ~ LadySun ~ ` ~ http://home.earthlink.net/~kbleyle/SD/index.html 'We look before and After, and pine for what is not; our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell the saddest thought...' The Cure (Wish) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 11:07:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Janine Sebastian Subject: BUFFYFIC: "The Mission" (1/?) TITLE: The Mission (1/?) AUTHOR: Jeanie the Tortoise-Fly [Janine Sebastian] E-MAIL: DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive. SPOILERS: none really except a mention of Angelus so I guess it's after "Innocence", probably sometime after "Passion." DISCLAIMER: Willow and Xander etc. don't belong to me, actually none of the characters do. They're either from the show, and therefore belong to Joss and WB etc. or they are actual people who belong only to themselves. If this is being posted it means that Anya, Robyn, and Windrider have read this and have given me permission to mention them. If they don't give me permission, this won't be posted until it's changed...{what a novel thought!} When I'm done, I promise that all of the characters will be returned in one piece...even Windrider. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I was avoiding studying for finals [yes again], and I was quite shocked to see the mayhem that had occurred during my four day absence from the posting board, and I was thinking about the coming summer, so I wrote this. This is far form serious or typical of a buffyfic...Buffy isn't even in it...yet. It brings to light a real issue in real life...i.e. My dad is stalling and avoiding getting our house connected to the net. Enjoy...or don't...it's up to you. Feedback is muchly appreciated, and I will use any flame mail to warm up my room [the floor is 1ft underground, and surrounded by cement, so it's cold in here.] **************** Jeanie stood in front of a large suburban house, and glanced back at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand. Yes this was the right address... It had taken a crate of Macaroons and a vast amount of Rye and Coke to get the address from Anya, even after explaining how important it was that she contact this person. Anya of course, had mentioned SOFA and FAA a few times, but eventually she realized how important this was to Jeanie, and Anya was very protective and understanding of the members of her animal heirarchy. It had taken many references to the Sprite and Oreo factories she had already given Robyn the Snowshoe Hare, and a written and signed promise not to kill Windrider unless he became soulless, to convince Robyn to lend Jeanie her Sliders-like gateway to the Hellmouth. Making sure she arrived during daylight hours, Jeanie had landed in Sunnydale with only her mission in mind. Jeanie took a deep breath, walked up to the house, rang the bell and muttered "God I hope this works." A sixteen year old redhead cautiously answered the door. [In Sunnydale, even in daylight, you never knew who was going to appear on your doorstep.] "Hello, how can I help you?" "Hi. Willow?" Jeanie asked careful not to sound too desperate right away. "I would be she. And you are?" "Um, my name's Janine. Janine Sebastian. But you probably know me as Jeanie?" "Jeanie...?" Afraid of the reaction she knew she was about to get, Jeanie took a step backwards before answering. "...Jeanie the Tortoise-Fly." The expression on Willows face went from caution, to confusion, to sudden recognition, and then to pure anger. "*You*!! ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!! You're one of *them* aren't you?!?! You're the one that started the Kendra thread on the posting board. The one that had so many posts it scrolled right off the screen! Do you know the HELL that I went through trying to calm Spike and Angelus down after that?!?! Not to mention Buffy..." Willow had to pause to take a breath. Jeanie took this as an opportunity to interrupt the young hacker's outburst. "Um, Willow? Yes, I admit I started that thread, and I contributed to the vast black hole as you scroll down the screen, and I'm really sorry, but I did try to realign the thread by restarting it a few times...And Robyn and I tried to take it to e-mail to avoid making the hole worse...Besides I *really* need your help," Jeanie begged. "My help?!? After all you've put me through, you ask for my help? Come to think of it, how'd you know where I lived?" Jeanie could see that Willow was less than impressed, and that more bribes and written statements were probably going to be needed to get her mission accomplished. "Actually Anya gave me your address." "Anya, as in web-goddess Anya? Why would she tell *you* were I lived?" Willow was clearly not impressed. "What? Do you think She'd give me your address if it wasn't *really* important? ...Ohh, that reminds me, I brought you something..." Reluctantly, Jeanie handed the box of Mr. Christie's Arrowroot Biscuits that she was carrying, over to Willow. "I didn't even have *one.*" Willow looked at Jeanie and thought <> But then she remembered the talk of Jeanie's obsession with Arrowroot cookies, and realized that if Jeanie had displayed enough self-control to be able to give her a whole, untouched box of Arrowroots, she must be *very* desperate. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Anya? To the site? What is it?" "Anya's fine, so's the site. It's just that the school term ends next week and once it's over I don't know how I'm going to access my e-mail...or the archive...or most importantly the posting board..." Jeanie was making every effort not to burst into tears in front of her new acquaintance. "And we don't have net access at home, 'cause my dad is taking forever hooking us up...and I don't know what I'm going to do." Willow took this all in and wondered how *she* could get by without computer access. Not that she was addicted to the fanfic site...she was the only one of her friends who hadn't gone completely AWOL every time something went wrong with the site...But she realized that even she wouldn't be able to handle four months without net access. "What do you want *me* to do?" She asked hesitantly. "Well... I thought that maybe you could...kinda...perhaps..." The glare in Willow's eyes made Jeanie get to the point in a hurry. "I want you to come back with me and teach my dad how easy it is to get a household connected. He's been stalling for months, and if someone experienced with computers were to come and show him how to do it...well then he wouldn't have any excuse not to." Willow Stood there thinking about it for a minute until she finally gave in. "All right. But on one condition..." "*Anything* you name it." "I want you to promise to make a valid effort not to let your threads on the posting board scroll off of the screen." "I...I promise." *************** "Where're you goin'?" came a male voice from the end of the driveway. Xander Harris had been on his way over to Willow's when he noticed the girl with long brown hair and blue eyes talking to his friend. Never one to respect privacy, Xander had decided to come right up to the two girls who were just leaving Willow's yard. "Going?...We're not going anywhere. Were we going somewhere, Jeanie?..." Willow attempted to cover. Jeanie had described the Sliders-like gate to her and for once, Willow really didn't want Xander to tag along. Unfortunately Jeanie didn't realize this so she invited Xander to join them. "Actually we were planning on going to my house. Wanna come?" Xander's interest was immediately caught. "Come? Me? Of course I wanna come. Um, where exactly is your place?" "Well...I live in Surrey." "Surrey? Where's that?" Xander was expecting Jeanie to say she lived nearby, not in some place he hadn't even heard of. "It's in British Colombia isn't it?" Asked Willow. "British Colombia? Where's *that*?" Xander was obviously confused. "It's in Canada you twit. Really Xander...Sometimes I wonder about you..." Just then Jeanie instinctively checked the timer for the gate and pointed out to the two friends that it was going to open in about twenty seconds. They stopped bickering long enough to jump through the gate which took them to Jeanie's neighbourhood. The gate had been set to deposit them in Jeanie's back yard but somehow the location must have been set wrong because they didn't land in the middle of the yard. Willow landed in Jeanie's mom's row of strawberries, Jeanie landed on the roof of her old tree fort, and Xander landed with a graceless thud, in the compost heap. "Robyn! We're going to have a long talk about this!" Jeanie fumed. Fortunately the strawberries weren't ripe yet, so Willow didn't stain her clothes. Jeanie carefully climbed off the roof of the fort, onto the porch and then down to solid ground. She was lucky she hadn't landed two feet to her left, she had just missed the huge blackberry patch, which had major thornage all year round. Xander was the least fortunate of the three of them, the compost was rather dirty. Just before he sat up, he noticed Newton, the Sebastian's resident newt, crawling towards him. "Cool. Hi little guy...wait a minute...I'm talking to a miniture geko..." Xander shook his head, removed the banana peel from his left arm, and stood up. He then turned his attention to brushing off the remnants of the Sebastian's breakfast...an orange peel here, some coffee grinds there... "Everyone okay? Xander, you've got an eggshell on your back... Willow, you need help up?" After everyone was safely inside the house, Jeanie took Willow and Xander upstairs to meet her dad. Only her dad wasn't there. Jeanie let out an exasperated "Arrrrggghhh!" Of course her mom chose that exact moment to come onto the room. "Hi Neen. Who are your friends here?" "Ohh, hi mom. This is Willow...and this is Xander. Guys this is my mom, you can call her Ruth, all my friends do. Uh, mom? Where's dad?" ***************** ...To be continued?... Feedback? [I know it's bad, but I experienced a momentary writing inspiration. Sorry, 'bout that. I'll try to do better next time...if there is a next time...:-)] ***************** BENNY: I can't believe these people. We paid money to see this. PIKE: No, we didn't. BENNY: Oh, yeah. But I still want to know what happens. BUFFY: Everyone gets horribly killed except the blonde girl in the nightie, who finally kills the monster with a machete but it's not really dead. JENNIFER: Oh, my God. Is that true? BUFFY: Probably. What movie is this? - -- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Movie _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? 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